Great Expectations
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| 2004 Draft picks Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson |
The Orlando Magic thought they were getting one building block for the franchise on Draft Night 2004.
Turns out, they actually got two that evening.
Dwight Howard, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 Draft, was a given as a foundation piece for the rebuilding of the team. All players selected first are labeled "franchise foundation" by the time David Stern shakes their hand to welcome them to the NBA. It goes with the territory.
However, 19 picks later the Magic made a trade with the Denver Nuggets to acquire Jameer Nelson and while they hoped he might develop into part of the rebirth of the franchise, it really wasn't much more than wishful thinking at the time. The track record for players chosen 20th in the first round veers more toward the end of the bench than the middle of the action.
Yet one and a half seasons into their pro careers, Howard and Nelson are hearing or reading the label "franchise foundation" every week, if not every day.
"I like it," said Howard, an exuberant, proud smile leaping off his 20-year-old face. "My mindset coming into the league was that I wanted to carry a team. I knew it was going to take time to develop, but I wanted to make a difference when I got here and that hasn't changed."
Nelson, who just turned 24, has a little more experience in life and a slightly different view.
"I hear it and it's nice that people are saying things like that, but I'm too young to be called a foundation piece," Nelson said. "I mean, I've been in the league a year and a half and what have I done?"
Nelson obviously has done a little more than he gives himself credit for, though he is right about one aspect of the labeling process: "They call us foundation pieces or building blocks because we're young and played well some nights," he said. "I'd like to see us succeed over a longer run before we've earned that label."
People around professional franchises always are looking for the player or players that will vault them to the next level. Any rookie or second-year player that becomes a positive influence on the team is liable to get labeled a "foundation piece," even if there is precious little around him to build upon.
"I know all about that situation," said Magic forward Grant Hill, who spent years as the foundation piece in Detroit. "It takes a lot of work, a little luck and being in the right situation surrounded by the right complementary players for a 'foundation piece' to succeed.
"But first and foremost, a player has to have character to be a foundation piece. Dwight and Jameer both have great character and that is why this is a good thing for the Magic. You look at any successful organization, in any sport and you will see the foundation of that success are guys with good character."
"I would agree with that, but I would add that guys with that label have to be willing to be leaders," Pat Garrity said. "They've got to set the tone every day in practice and accept nothing less than great effort from everyone on the team from the first day of training camp. They've got to be willing, when it's necessary, to call guys out or call the whole team out when the effort is not what it should be.
"Dwight and Jameer are certainly capable of doing that and I think Jameer is very close to having enough experience to feel comfortable doing it."
Otis Smith is one of the people responsible for drafting Howard and Nelson and he says without hesitation that he thought they were both capable of being the foundation for the Magic for the next decade. He is even more sure of it now that he has seen them compete at the NBA level.
"The first thing you wonder about when you draft a guy is whether he has the talent to play at our level," Smith said. "Dwight and Jameer settled that maybe two games into their rookie season.
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| A winning combination of Nelson and Howard |
The last element -- winning -- would seem to be the easiest one to satisfy, but it's not. All players want to win and freely admit it. Only a few, however, have the talent, desire and willingness to do whatever it takes to make sure their team wins.
"I'll give you a perfect example," said Hill, who is right on board with Smith about the importance of doing what it takes to win. "There are a lot of talented guys in this league who think they've done their job if they score 20 points or get 10 rebounds. If their team loses, but they get their 20 and 10, you'll even hear them say: 'Hey, I did my job.'
"But some nights your job might be to go close out a shooter in the corner rather than hang back and pad your rebounding numbers. Or you might need to create shots for guys who are struggling offensively, rather than take all the shots yourself and rack up big scoring numbers.
"The really great players see that and do it. They don't worry about their line in the box score, they worry about the final score. Believe me, as obvious as that seems, it takes awhile to learn that, and I think Jameer and Dwight are picking up on that really well."
Smith pushes the "winning" formula constantly with Howard and Nelson.
"The pitfall to not having success as a franchise is that you put all the weight on these young guys and they lose games and start thinking that's the way it goes," Smith said. "I don't want Dwight and Jameer to be thinking that it's OK to be .500 or a couple of games under .500 while you wait for all the right pieces to fall in place.
"We've got to lean on them, push them, prod them, make them understand that winning games is important every night. Winning has to be more important than personal accolades or stats. I tell them to leave it out there on the floor every night and take tomorrow off. That's a lot of pressure on young guys, but they are developing that kind of mentality."
Howard and Nelson nod their heads in unison when discussing whether the messages from management, coaches and fellow players are getting through.
"Where ever I go in life, I want to be a catalyst for good things," Howard said. "I've tried to be a leader by actions my first two years. That's why I stay in the gym after practice and come to games early to put in the work, but I feel like it's time to start leading in other ways, too. I want to make a difference here and I'm going to."
"Who doesn't want to be a player a team builds around?" Nelson asked. "Dwight and I know the sky is the limit, but only if we're going to keep being aggressive about getting better as players and keeping a positive attitude about the organization. We can make this one of the top organizations in the league and that's the goal for both of us."
This story originally appeared in the March issue of Magic Magazine. Get your favorite Magic fan a subscription to Magic Magazine! To subscribe call 1-877-841-7070 or e-mail subscription.service@skies.com and specify you want Magic Magazine. A one-year subscription is $18.95 and two-year is just $24.95.
